Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/494

Rh 450 A L B A L B appointed in 1772 organist to the court of Vienna, and in 1792 kapellmeister of St Stephen s cathedral. His fame as a theorist attracted to him in the Austrian capital a large number of pupils, some of whom afterwards became eminent musicians. Among these were Beethoven, Hum mel, Moscheles, Seyfried, and Weigl. Albrechtsberger died in 1809. His published compositions consist of pre ludes, fugues, and sonatas for the piano and organ, string quartettes, &c. ; but the greater proportion of his works, vocal and instrumental, exist only in manuscript, and are in the possession of Prince Esterhazy. Probably the most valuable service he rendered to music was in his theoretical works, Avhich to a great extent superseded earlier treatises, and are still standard authorities. In 1790 he published at Leipsic a treatise on composition, of which a third edition appeared in 1821. A collection of his writings on harmony, in three volumes, was published under the care of his pupil Seyfried in 1826. The English translation of the latter is from a French version, and not from the original. ALBUERA, a small village of Spain, in the province of Badajoz, 13 miles S.E. of the town of that name. It is celebrated on account of the victory gained there on the 16th of May 1811 by the English, Portuguese, and Spaniards, under Marshal Beresford, over the French army commanded by Marshal Soult. ALBUFERA DE VALENCIA, a lagoon, 7 miles south of Valencia in Spain, about 12 miles in length and 4 in breadth, 12 feet being its greatest depth. It communi cates with the sea by a narrow outlet, which can be opened or closed at pleasure. The lake is crown property, and is of great value from the fish and wild fowl with which it abounds. In 1812 Marshal Suchet was created duke of Albufera by Napoleon for his conquest of Valencia, and invested with the domain; but the battle of Vitoria soon deprived him of his possession, though he still re tained the title. Subsequently the revenues of Albufera were conferred upon the Duke of Wellington, in token of the gratitude of the Spanish nation. ALBUM (albus, white), originally denoted a tablet on which decrees, edicts, and other public notices were inscribed in ancient Rome. It was so called probably because the tablet was made of white or whitened material, though some authorities say that the inscription was in white characters. The Pontifex Maximus wrote his annals (Annales Maximi) upon an album. In coiirse of time the term came to be restricted almost exclusively to lists of official names. Such were the Album Judicum, Album Senatorum, Album Decurionum, Album Centurice. In modern times album denotes a book in which verses, auto graphs, sketches, photographs, &c., are collected. It is also applied to the official list of matriculated students in a university, and to the roll in which a bishop inscribes the names of his clergy. ALBUMAZAR (ABU-MAASCHAR), a celebrated Arabian astronomer, born at Balkh, in Turkestan, in 805 A.D., died at Wasid in 885. He had reached the age of forty- seven before he entered on the studies to which he owes his fame. His principal works are An Introduction to Astronomy and the Boole of Conjunction, both published in a Latin translation at Augsburg in 1489, and again at Venice in 1515. A work On the Revolution of the Years is also attributed to him, in which it is maintained that the world was created when the seven planets were in con junction in the first degree of Aries, and that it will come to an end at a like conjunction in the last degree of Pisces. ALBUMEN, an organic substance of a very complicated structure. It is typical of a group of bodies that have the same chemical composition but very different pro perties. The principal varieties are named albumen, fibrin, and casein. They are sometimes called the histo- genetic bodies, because they are essential to the building up of the animal organism. The vegetable kingdom is the original source of the albumenoid group of substances. In plants the albumen is found in greatest quantity in the seed. The mean average percentage composition of the albumenoids is as follows Carbon, 53-3 Hydrogen, 7 Nitrogen, 15 7 Sulphur, 1 -2 Oxygen, 22 3 100-0 The true chemical formula of these bodies is unknown, but if we regard the sulphur as replacing oxygen, then the sintylest empirical formula is C^H.^N^Og. All the albumenoid bodies are capable of existing in two forms (a) soluble, (6) insoluble. They belong to the clasa of bodies called colloids, and easiry pass from the one con dition into the other. Whether in the soluble or insoluble condition, they are easily dissolved by caustic potash, and may be precipitated by the addition of acetic acid. The soluble varieties are coagulated by alcohol, and precipitated by salts of copper, lead, and mercury. Strong sulphuric acid dissolves them, with the production of leucine, tyrosine, and ammoniacal salts. Strong nitric acid produces in their solutions a coagulum of a bright orange colour, and then gradually dissolves it with effervescence. A solution of nitrate of mercury, when heated with the members of the group, produces a deep red colour, and this is one of the most delicate tests. Some varieties of albumen coagulate when heated. All the albumenoid bodies are amorphous, and may be kept when dry for any length of time, biit when moist they rapidly putrefy, and produce a sickening odour. Among the products of putrefaction are found leucine and tyrosine, and carbonate, butyrate, valerate, and sulphide of ammonium. The readi ness with which these bodies change in the moist con dition produces the digestive and other ferments in the body, and the synaptase, diastase, and emulsin which we find in plants. The special properties of albumen, fibrin, and casein will be described in the article CHEMISTRY. From its property of coagulating when heated, albumen is employed in the arts to remove colouring matters from liquids. ALBUQUERQUE, a town of Spain, in the province of Badajoz, 9 miles from the frontiers of Portugal. Situated on an eminence, it is defended by an almost impregnable fortress built on a high mountain. It was taken by the allies of Charles, at that time a competitor for the Spanish throne, in 1705, but was restored to the Spanish crown in 1715. It has woollen arid linen manufactures, and exports cattle and fruits. Population, 7000. ALBUQUERQUE, ALPHONSO D (in Portuguese Affonso d Alboquerque], surnamed &quot; The Great,&quot; and &quot; The Portu guese Mars,&quot; was born in 1453 at Alexandria, near Lisbon. Through his father, Gonzalvo, who held an important position at court, he was connected by illegitimate descent with the royal family of Portugal, and through his mother, Dona Leonora de Menezes, he could claim kindred with Zarco and other illustrious navigators. He was educated at the court of Alphonso V., and after the death of that monarch seems to have served for some time in Africa. On his return he was appointed estribeiro-mor (chief equerry) to Joao II. In 1503 he set out on his first expe dition to the East, which was to be the scene of his future triumphs. In company with his kinsman Francisco he sailed round the Cape of Good Hope to India, and suc^ ceeded in establishing the king of Cochin securely on his throne, obtaining in return for this service per mission to build a Portuguese fort at Cochin, and thus